Loaded Potato Mashed Potatoes

Who doesn’t love bacon? For this spin, add in a few tablespoons of real bacon bits, ½ cup sour cream and 4 green onions. Top off each serving with some shredded cheddar cheese.

Creamy Parsnip Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

If you haven’t tried parsnip before, it’s a close relative of the carrot. In fact, it looks and smells like a large white carrot. It also has a nice complementary flavor to mashed potatoes that make the dish a little more flavorful and smooth.

You’ll need the ingredients listed above for the basic mashed potato recipe along with the following:

1 medium fresh parsnip – about the size of 2 of your potatoes

½ cup sour cream

2 green onions

½ cup Parmesan cheese

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic or 1 ½ tsp garlic powder

For this recipe, we’ll treat the parsnip like an honorary potato. Cut the ends off the parsnip, peel it and cut it into chunks the same size as your potatoes. Put the parsnip in the pot with the potatoes to boil. Follow the rest of the basic recipe and combine all remaining ingredients after draining when you’re getting ready to mash. Mash until silky smooth and enjoy.

Now that you know my favorite ways to make potatoes, I’d love to hear yours. What's your favorite mash-up?